S.A. Crow's Blog, page 11

Notion for Writers

Do you spend hours trying to plan your time? Are you always changing your planner, looking for that perfect combination of space and functionality? I have been there with you! I would buy planner after planner trying to get all the things I wanted and needed to plan into spaces that just didn’t give me exactly what I needed. I even tried creating my own planner, that was a hard lesson.

Well I have a solution, although digital. Notion is a project management and note-taking software. Notion is a software designed to help members of a company or organization coordinate deadlines, objectives, and assignments for the sake of efficiency and productivity.

There are tons of templates for every possible aspect of your life that you want to track. On top of that you can add links to your Google Drive, Trello, and upload images from your computer. You can also customize every page with Gifs, sticker images, fun icons, and banners.

Don’t get me wrong I love my paper planners and the ability to use stickers and washi in them. But they were just not giving me the ability to track all my projects in an organized way that I was actually using. Notion has let me build a functional working dashboard with links to different areas of my life that I can see in many views from a table to a gallery view. I am still using a paper planner in conjunction with Notion. There are some things that I just have to track on paper and having the ability to have that information both digitally and in a paper planner has really helped me streamline so many aspects of my life.

One of the most wonderful parts of Notion for me has not been tracking my daily to-do lists, setting up the novel I am working on, or even tracking business information. It has been the mental health templates and journals. I have found so much clarity using Notion to track symptoms, flare ups, mood and even energy levels each day. I can go back and look at how a week or a month or even the whole year has gone in a single place.

I know what you are thinking. I don’t have time to learn how to use something new. I thought that too but Notion is easy to set up and it is actually fun to find templates and customize them for your own use. I have found hundreds of templates since I started using Notion in Dec 2021. It is also easy to change your templates up when you just want a new look, just add new images or move around your content and you have a whole new look without spending hours printing out new planner pages or setting up new spreads in a bullet journal.

But what about your team? You can share pages from your dashboard with your team! Yes there is a paid plan that allows you to add team members who can work on the same page as you at the same time! Or you can add them as a guest on the free plan. You can also share your templates with others with an easy share button.

Now you are probably sitting there going, but Brandy, this all sounds a little too good, what is the catch right? No catch! I promise! Notion is free to sign up for and use. They have hundreds of free templates in their templates database, or you can simply search YouTube and Google to find literally hundreds of free templates!

In June I am hosting a free workshop in On The Wings for Writers Discord Server on how I have my entire Notion database set up for my author business, including blog management, social media tracking, daily to do lists, and even managing my household and meals all in the same place. If you still have questions or are interested in finding out how to set up or find templates for your own dashboards, join us there when the sign up opens, all you have to do is join the discord server and my newsletter so you don’t miss out on the sign up.

About The Unorganized Writer - AKA Brandy

I am an aspiring author working on my first romance novel. When I am not writing I am creating social media graphics for On The Wings for Writers discord server and of course myself. I enjoy being part of the active and supportive community on the server. I have lived in Central Missouri my whole life and live with my husband and our two children, we also have four super crazy cats.

I have had stories that I wanted to tell since I was a teenager, but never really knew how to get started. It has taken me a couple years to finally figure out what I actually want to write and start getting it down on paper (so to speak). I hope to have my debut novel out this fall or winter and another shortly after that.

Bios always confuse me because I never know how much I should share but I love to connect and meet new people so you can find me on Facebook and Instagram as theunorganizedwriter or in discord.

I used Starlight Fairie Design Co for my pen name branding and I'm so in love with her work.

What Writing Software to Use for Your Next Project?

What are some of the writing software authors are using? Why I’ve picked yWriter. A fellow author created yWriter and offers it for free to the public. Why you will switch your writing software to yWriter.

According to yWriter Wiki, “yWriter is a free word processor that breaks your project into chapters and scenes. It should help you keep track of your work, leaving your mind free to create.” ,https://sites.google.com/site/ywritersj/project-definition?authuser=0

The software breaks your work up into the chapters and that chapters scenes. You can track the scenes in a chapter and move the scenes around to different chapters if need be.

Choosing a software.

There are as many writing software programs as there are writers, it seems. You can get software for your PC, tablet, and phone. Here is a list of the top 6 software most writers use.

According to authorunlimited.com

Scrivener yWriter Fast Pencil’s Book Writer Ommwriter Noisli Sigil

Here are some of the best writing software programs according to ,www.techradar.com/best/free-writing-software Techradar 10 Tools the Pros Use

Zoho Writer LibreOffice Google Docs yWriter Evernote Novelize Ulysses Hemmingway app Scrivener FastPencil

The Write Practice has a great article on Book Writing Software 2022 by Joe Bunting ,https://thewritepractice.com/best-book-writing-software/

Why I choose yWriter and Google Docs.

I’ve been using Google Docs since back in the early 2000s and I’ve had a few issues with Google Docs, but I always seem to find a way around them when they occur. For drafting my novels I use yWriter and then back up my work up in Google Docs.

According to the Write Practice, here are the pros and cons of Google Docs.

Pros of Google Docs:

Real-time collaboration with editors, beta readers, or other writers Suggestion mode Free!

Cons of Google Docs:

No large-document organization features No productivity features Offline mode withstanding usually requires an internet connection

Cost: Free!

What I love about yWriter?

I love the word count feature and second; I love the reports. The streamlined look keeps me focused and minimizes distractions. The biggest reason is that it’s created by a fellow author and offered for free.

According to ChateBooks article 14 of the Best Free Book Writing Software on the Market by Tanisha Dec. 14, 2017 https://www.chatebooks.com/blog/6-bes...

PROS: Organization: This distraction-free tool allows you to organize and keep track of your stories, plots, characters, locations and even scenes. Interface: The program’s interface is designed around the structure of a novel and it is immensely straightforward in its use. Software Versions: The yWriter software was previously only available for PC use; however, an Android version was recently released and there is now a beta version for iOS. CONS: yWriter doesn’t work with Mac yet and it doesn’t come with templates. *Update 2019/2020 update: There's now a native Mac version. There's no longer any need to run the Windows version on Macs.

yWriter Wiki’s Quick-start guide ,https://sites.google.com/site/ywritersj/q?authuser=0

Once you have the program installed and started the project. You will encounter the New Project wizard.

This will take you through the steps needed to set up and save your project. Fill in the requested fields. Make sure your Title, Author, and File Path are correct before you hit finish on the wizard.

Then you’ll arrive at yWriters’ main screen.

The main screen is a little intimidating for some first-time users.

In the Chapter list, you will see the following

The title of each chapter

The W column: number of words in the chapter

The S column: number of scenes in the chapter

The P column: number the running total word count up to that point

Under that list is the Chapter description box

Across the top you have the menu bar with:

Project, reports, search, chapter, scene, characters, locations, items, tools, localise and help

Then you have the main box with tabs for scenes, project notes, characters, locations, and items

The bar below that is the title of the scene you are working on

Then is another box at the bottom with more tabs; content, description, characters, locations, items, scene notes, and goals.

Once you create a chapter and create a scene by clicking on the top bar menu. I add characters, locations that I know of, items I know of to the by clicking create from the drop menu bar at the top.

If you would like more help with yWriter you can always find YouTube videos, the wiki page or...

You can take my Free Workshop this month

Sign up to RSVP here

Events this month

1st Wednesday 5pm Central US time

If you an author or writer check these out

Beta Read of Glass Mountain Road by R. M. Scholl

Current Project

Flash Fiction month under a different pen name

How do you define an author vs. a writer?

I’ve tried to answer the question of what is the difference between being a writer versus being an author for myself since I started down this journey over five years ago. What do you think the difference is? How do you define an author vs. a writer? When did I stop seeing writing as a hobby? When did writing become a career and change into calling myself an author? Let’s discuss how you define the difference or whether you even see a difference.

Let’s go to the experts.

A writer: one that writes *“Writer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.

An author: the writer of a literary work (such as a book) *“Author.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.

What do some people think the difference is?

Some people I’ve encountered use the titles interchangeably and feel that there is no difference between being a writer or an author. Perhaps the author is the title and the writer is what you do. Some may never see themselves as authors even after they published and others might call themselves an author, even though they have published nothing. What do you think the difference is? How do you define an author vs. a writer?

How I define the differences.

So why did I ask this question in the first place? I wanted to see what the difference was in my mind. When did I stop seeing writing as a hobby and seeing it as a career? When did I feel like I graduated to being an author? To be honest with you, I wanted to know when I felt comfortable to call myself an author. I think a writer is someone who writes, no matter what you write or whether you ever publish a thing. An author is someone who puts their butt in the chair and works through the tough times. They don’t stop at the fun stages and then put the story to the side to work on the next best idea. I felt like an author when I kept going through the revision, edits, reads, formatting, uploads, creating my publishing company, and publishing the book. Just because this is how I defined the difference doesn’t mean that it’s true for everyone. What questions do you need to define for yourself with your craft? When do you think that you’ve achieved a state of elevation?

Would you like help in moving from being a writer and becoming an author? Are you unsure where to go after you’ve written that zero or first draft? Or is it time to revise, but you don’t know where to begin? Black Bird Books Publishings As the Crow Flies division can help. I offer personalized classes designed for your personal immediate needs. Do you need help with characters, plot, revision, self-editing, ect… Book your package today! Or take one of my workshops.

The Writers Notebook

Social Media for Authors parts 1 and 2

Trello for Authors

and more.

[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]Upcoming events

Live Critique Read rescheduled 20th 5pm Central time

April Book Club Meeting 27th 5pm Central time

Raven’s Cookbook Vote 29th

May 1st Wednesday Meeting 4th 5pm Central time

May Writing Retreat 6-8th

https://youtu.be/pjVv_0M-nCYGiveaway

Are you a member of On the Wings for Writers Discord? Do you have a book out that you would like people to read? Do you have an author newsletter, blog, website, social media you would like to share with potential readers? Then sign up to take part in our Summer Giveaway today!

If you would like to find new authors and win some outstanding swag like; books, ebooks, stickers, bookmarks, gift cards and more. Then join our Facebook group today and mark your calendars for May 28th, 2022.

Live Stream Fundraiser

A full day of live sprints from your favorite authors and writers on YouTube and Twitch to raise money for Feeding America the charity, all the proceeds from the sales of Raven’s Cookbook A Charity Cookbook 2021 benefits. Mark your calendars and be on the lookout for the stream schedule coming soon.

If you would like to host a stream to raise money for this cause, please sign up here.

Check out these books from On the Wings for Writers Members[image error][image error]

That Guy In Our Woman's Studies Class by Allan D. Hunter

Switch Book 3 in The Reincarnation Series

More books for you

Titles/Release Dates/ Preorder:

City Boy by Evan Grace ➜ May 3, 2022

→ ,https://amzn.to/3rvdRBY

Heartbreaker Boy by Lexi Noir ➜ May 4, 2022

→ coming soon

Fly Boy by Chloe Holiday ➜ May 5, 2022

→ ,https://amzn.to/38LrZ3s

The Wrong Boy by Ashley Munoz ➜ May 10, 2022

→ coming soon

Good Boy, Bad Man by MK Moore ➜ May 11, 2022

→ coming soon

The Lawn Boy by Taylor Delong ➜ May 12, 2022

→ ,mybook.to/TheLawnBoy

Saved my Boy by Amanda Shelley ➜ May 18, 2022

→ ,https://amzn.to/37VN6zC

The New Boy by E.S. McMillan ➜ May 19, 2022

→ coming soon

Up Next week on the blog.

HEA for Trans Kids

Would you like to be a guest blogger? Sign up here.

As the Crow Flies Writing Coaching

On the Wings for Writers Writing Group

Featured Author

Who is Alice?

Alice Hanov is a writer with a degree in Rhetoric and Professional writing from the University of Waterloo. She lives with her husband of 15 years and their three children in Canada. She also runs a software company, Hanov Solutions.

What does she write?

Currently working on a debut series The Head, The Heart and The Heir. Releasing this summer. June 14th, 2022.

Ever since her mother was murdered by her grandfather in front of her and she was placed in hiding, Princess Elizabeth has longed to be reunited with her father, her kingdom, and her people.

After twelve years in the forest, the only heir to the Kingdom of Warren is discovered by her childhood playmate and crush, now the Crown Prince of the allied Kingdom of Datten. Her grandfather has died, and it’s now safe for her to return home before her seventeenth birthday, when sorcerers like her manifest their powers.

But the girl who now calls herself Alex is nothing like the princess they remember. She’s headstrong, fearless–and already wields powers beyond their wildest imaginations. She can predict the future, control the weather, make plants magically grow, and manipulate fire, causing unusual things to happen when her emotions are heightened.

As she struggles to gain control of her powers, Alex causes chaos in the castle, where she’s never quite the princess they want her to be. When she uncovers the secret behind the murder of her mother and her own lineage, Alex’s powers threaten to destroy everyone around her, including her father, who concealed the truth.

Alex doesn’t want to be feared or controlled. She’s not the type to stand by and let someone else decide her fate–but is she strong enough to turn her back on the only family and friends she has left?

You can download the Prequel book: The Beginnings on her website here ,http://alicehanov.com/

How I found Alice?

We connected on social media and I offered to have On the Wings for Writers interview her about her upcoming novel and writers’ questions. We set up a date, and all had fun. Sadly, our recorder bot wasn’t behaving, and we didn’t get a recording of the interview for a transcript here. I highly recommend you keep your eye on Alice Hanov and her debut series. I know it’s going to be a hit.

Start your journey with Alice Hanov

She offers quizzes for her world. A map and lore for her series. You so want to start the journey through the Kingdom of Torian.

here

If you would like to be a featured author

Simply email me at ,sacrow@authorsacrow.com and make the subject line Author Interview. We are an elite group and when our recording bot is working; I do a transcript of the interview for the blog.

If you have a novel, you would like us to add to our Book Club TBR

Fill out this form and we will see if your book matches our book club. We can’t wait to read your story.

Guest Blog - Wrapping up the 1st Quarter of 2022

End of Q1! What happens next?!

With March closing rapidly we are at the end of the first quarter of the year. For some this quarter has given birth to book releases, book signings, finished beta reads and so much more amazing progress. For some of us though, this quarter has been riddled with illness, doctor visits, low energy days and sleepless nights.

No matter which side of the road you are on, and maybe you are right in the middle. You had your fair share of progress and achievement but found yourself limping along to get there. We are all pushing ahead trying to do better, be better. Even if you didn’t write one single word on your draft you are making progress.

How do I know that? Because I know you tried! You sat there and you stared at that screen or notebook, you laid out the index cards and all the markers and tools to plan and prepare for whatever you are working on. So you made progress and I am proud of you for it!

The next question is how do we move forward into the next quarter when we may feel like we have so many things left undone? You sit back, you regroup, reprioritize. You reconnect with your values and life goals and you keep going. Just because it is a new quarter doesn’t mean you need new goals, you have goals! Just keep pushing forward on them.

You don’t have to recreate your plan or vision, just adjust it, adapt and use the progress you have made to keep going.

So here is my plan going into Q2, I am going to keep working on Murder Under a Full Moon. I am prioritizing some of the other projects and tasks that I came up with and setting them aside if needed. Not abandoning them, just pausing on them so that I don’t continue to overwhelm myself with trying to do all the things.

I am focusing on my health. That is my first priority. I have to put my health both mentally and physically first or I will never have the energy and motivation to do what I really love doing. Writing and being part of an amazing writing community. Feb brought me health news that scared me and made me realize that I have to change my eating habits, my movement and my focus. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I am a lucky one though, I don’t have to take insulin shots, just a pill twice a day. But this was a harsh look at reality and how I was neglecting myself. So honestly. I have spent the last 6 weeks entirely focused on bettering my nutrition, my workouts, my mental health. Because I need those things.

My second priority is to my community. I am part of an amazing group of authors and writers. I have made commitments to them and I will not break those commitments. It is an integral part of me. They have been there supporting me through all the bumps of the last several weeks and I can’t thank them enough.

My third priority is my writing. Yes it is coming in dead last for Quarter 2. Because as much as I love writing and I really want to get this book finished. I know that I am not ready to sit down and write until I am feeling better. I have plans, I have deadlines. But they are not harsh, they are not going to create anxiety or stress. There is no right or wrong way in how often I write. Clearly the faster I get it done the faster I can publish it, but will it be the best book I can write if I push myself too hard? I don’t think it will.

I challenge you to look at your priorities and make yourself the first one on your list for quarter 2. Be a better you and enjoy every moment you have.

Brandy is The Unorganized Writer on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and more social media locations. She also owns Starlight Fairie Designs Put a little magic your designs a social media and branding design business. Co-creature of On the Wings of Friends Writing Buddy Program a six-month writing buddy matching program. She's also a writer of romance. She is working on her reverse harem novel now.

You can find everything here

YouTube

Website

Writing Buddy Program

What, Why, How a Book Signing?

Book signing seems like a rite of passage as an author, don’t they? Today we will visit some key points about book signings and what you can take away from them. Why do one even if you're an introvert? How much might it cost you to put one on? What do besides read your book out loud? What if no one shows up? Should I do more than one book signing? Remember that this is always a learning experience and even if your first one doesn’t go off the way you wanted, make notes and try again.

What is a book signing?

One day I walked into a big chain bookstore and saw a man sitting at a table near the entrance dressed nice a sign displayed on the table next to him featuring a book cover. He appeared lonely and forlorn sitting there with a stack of books and a sign of his only company as he sat there watching people come and go from the bookstore. You knew instantly this was an author doing a book signing.

Essentially, a book signing is an opportunity for an author to share their book, sign books and mingle with the public where they are new readers or fans.

Why consider doing one?

It’s a way to network and meet potential readers. You can meet and mingle with fans and learn what they like about your books.

How do you find out where you can do one?

Be creative for searching for locations for book signings. Ask yourself some simple questions first.

Do you have any locally owned book stores or chains?

Are there any local events, fairs, farmers’ markets, etc. that you might do a book signing at?

Are their special locations in the book that you might do a book event at?

Does your local library offer author events?

What will it cost you?

This will vary depending on the location. Some local events, fairs, farmers’ markets will charge you for a table or booth fee.

Some local libraries will also charge you to host events.

Some major book store chains will charge you to host an event as well.

Your best bet is to call around early and make a budget and pick places you like.

I was lucky and the bookstore I hosted at didn’t charge so my cost was $0. I checked inside to see if they had a special drink. They wanted me to push for them on social media posts and to interested parties to help the cafe inside the bookstore.

What do you do besides maybe read your book and sign books?

I did a sign the guest book and prize drawing.

Walked around and mingled.

Made a behind-the-scenes vlog for my subscribers.

I also Facebook lived my book reading.

What do you do when no one shows up?

Don’t get discouraged.

Bring helpers and chat with them about the book this will often excite others to come over.

Have a interesting table set up to entice people to come see what is going on.

Should you do more than one?

Yes, pushing your book after launch week is a great idea. Get out in your community. People love to know that they have a local author. Check out some of those fairs, events, and farmers’ markets year round.

I would love to hear about your book signing moments or questions. Just comment below or email me.

If you would like to keep up to date on events and more surrounding my books, check it out here .

What to look forward in next weeks blog post?

Guest Blog from The Unorganized Writer

End of Q1! What happens next?!

The Foreigner with Jackie Chan

Awesome check it out!

[image error][image error][image error]Check these books outWhat I’m working on now?

Resting up for the last few days of March before Camp NaNoWriMo

Upcoming Events

Book club meeting tonight at 5pm Central time at On the Wings for Writers Discord Server

Writing Retreat 1-3rd

1st Wednesday 6

Writing Workshop TBA 2nd Weekend

Live Critique Read 13

Book club Meeting 27

Send in your recipes for next years Raven’s Cookbook for charity before the 28th.

Are you a writer and stuck? Do you want to better understand world-building? Check out my Writing Coaching program. I specialize each program to what you need to work on getting to your next step as a writer. Let’s work together today!

What is a Book Launch?

What is a book launch?

What do you do for a book launch? How do you even make a plan for this kind of thing? All these are brilliant questions and ones I’ve been trying to get a handle on for the last two years. I’m going to share with you a few things I’ve done and how I’ve done them. The first thing to realize is that not all book launches look the same for everyone. What you might do if you have an agent will look different from an indie author going it on their own. The second and most important thing to realize is that you can always learn from what didn’t work last time, so don’t be intimidated. Last but not least, it’s important to remember is that you don’t have to get it right the first time. So now let’s get to what I’ve been doing and what is coming up.

What does launching a book look like for me?

I’ve scoured the internet for ideas and made lists of what I could and couldn’t do based on my marketing budget, knowledge of marketing, and time allowance. I fully admit some things I could have done, but I was too much of a coward to do them; like contacting local media on my first book launch. This time around I toughened up and bit the bullet and did it this time. I have seen little come out of it, but I might need to reevaluate how I did it and fix that.

So the first thing I do is look at my marketing budget. My budget is $0. You might ask yourself how do I get away with a marketing budget that small. Well, here is a little background of my current situation. My first job is as a caregiver for this job. My pay from that job is room and board. I’m also a writing coach, but that is slowly getting off the ground, so no income from that yet. Don’t forget that I’m also a full-time author, but I don’t have the marketing budget to bring in mass amounts of book sales. Along with that I also sell writing workshops, and more on my buymeacoffee where some subscribe to help me pay for things like the Discord server for our writing group On the Wings for Writers. As you can see, that is a lot of jobs but not a lot of income, hence my $0 marketing budget.

Next, let’s look at your knowledge of marketing. Marketing anything is an always shifting target. One thing I’ve done is learn from others. I follow other authors on social media. Read blog posts and more from other authors and monitor book marketing in media around me. You can also take courses and learn more that way.

What is your time allowance? Do you work a full-time job and publish novels on the side? Do you have a family with an active life outside of school that requires large chunks of your time? Inspect what time you can dedicate to marketing with the knowledge, budget, and tools at your disposal. Do you have time to learn how to use Canva or other marketing design applications? Have you built up an audience on social media that will help you with word of mouth? With my schedule of daily tasks, I haven’t in the past looked into the new and upcoming social media platforms because I didn’t have the time to master them in time. I’m lucky that I only have to look into one social media platform to try this time around.

How did I set this up?

I knew by the end of the year that I was going to publish my novel in March. So I started six months beforehand making a list of launch tasks. Here is my list of tasks.

Check out planning book events Book trailer New Years Newsletter Book signing and Reading locations to try network with others Instagram Book Tour Street Team ARCs (Advance Review Copy - Give a free copy in exchange for an honest review on retailers like Amazon) ERCs (Early Reader Copy - If you have consistent supporters like on Patreon, can send to them an early copy as a “thank you”) Pre-Release: Post-Release: Release Day: Contact local media Social Media (Bio & Banners) Author Website Cover Reveal Date: Create promo images Also share: Title, Book Description, Release Date, Pre-Order links Create Cover Reveal Team Signup Form Make sure it’s added to Goodreads and StoryGraph Set up for Pre-Order (if applicable) Make sure it’s added to Goodreads and StoryGraph Set up for Pre-Order (if applicable) Order Proof Copies Create “Back Matter” Pages ,(Title Page, Copyright, Author Bio, Thank You…) Format Book for each book format Metadata (Keywords & Categories for online retailers) ISBNs - 1 for each book format (ebook, paperback, hardcover, audio…) Decide on Sale Price Description Tagline Create Pre-Order and newsletter incentive Pre-Order Incentives: Pre-Order start date: Set Publishing Date Will you do Pre-Orders What formats will you publish in? Ebook, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio… Make a Publishing Budget Set Pre-Order / Sales Goals Plan marketing

Not in that order.

What book events are coming up?

Social Media Book Tour and TikTok for the first time.

Facebook group interview with

Book Signing in Fort Worth, TX

YouTube cooking videos

[image error][image error][image error]Check these titles out.

M'Lady

Chance Encounters

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Hotel Queens

[image error][image error][image error][image error]How can you get a free story from me?

Sign up for my newsletter and get Home Fires a seasonal short for free all year.

Beautiful Book Merch The Fire Inside Cover T-Shirt

Share your love for the second novel in the Fire Series by S. A. Crow with this book cover shirt.

On the Wings for Writers Discord, upcoming events.

Wednesday 3/23/22 5pm Central time Interview of Alice Hanov

Friday 3/25/22 Live on YouTube sprints

Raven’s Cookbook monthly feature recipe vote 3/25/22

Saturday 3/26/22 Live Plan with me Sprints on YouTube

Wednesday 3/30/22 Book club Meeting 5pm Central time

[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]What I’m working on now?

I’ve done my Camp NaNoWriMo prep to revise Book 3 If the Seas Catch Fire. 1800 minutes of revision is my goal for April.

If you are taking part in Camp or just want to be buddies on NaNoWriMo, you can find me here. Search for SACrow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMS0ZJWNaB0

Now What! Revision at Camp NaNoWriMo

The writing life doesn’t end when a book gets published. Even though I’m in the post launch for The Fire Inside book 2 of The Fire Series. I’m also preparing for Camp NaNoWriMo in April. I need to revise my 3rd book so I can hand it off to beta readers this summer. I’ve prepared my trackers and Notion writer section to track my progress for this revision. All I have left to do is summarize the chapters of the book so I have an idea of what is going on in each chapter. What is Camp NaNoWriMo? What is my 3rd book about? How do you track your revision? Do you want to take part in Camp and get some postcards? Are you looking for a writing group to encourage you during Camp? You’ve come to the right place.

What is Camp NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a non-profit. They host three writing events a year. Two Camp events, one in April and the other in July. The biggest and most well known event is the November Novel writing month event. You can of course use the site to track any project all year. Sign up for NaNoWriMo here.

What am I revising for Camp?

I’m revising If the Seas Catch Fire book 3 of The Fire Series. I wrote this novel last April during camp 61,505

This book is about Steve and Mallory. They were both introduced in book 1 as the best friends to the main characters Travis and Raven.

Steve is a freelance journalist and co-founder of the band Home. Finds after writing an exclusive piece on an extreme BDSM and white slavery group with connections all over the world, his life falls apart. He is blacklisted professionally, and after an embarrassing moment is released on social media his fans are out for his blood. He reaches for the one person he believes can love him for who he is, and believe in him.

Mallory fell into a nice friend with a fantastic benefits relationship with Steve, the best man in her best friend’s wedding. When he wants more from their relationship, she has to decide if she can truly trust that romantic relationships can work for her, despite her family curse. Can she find her way through her fears to stand beside a good man who is wronged and needs her strength?

How I’m tracking my revision?

I’m tracking time spent on the project so my goal is 1800 minutes. Here is a graphic on how to track your Camp project if you aren’t doing a set word count.

How can you announce your Camp project?

If you don’t already have an account with NaNoWriMo just sign up then click announce your project and put in the information and share it with everyone you know so we can cheer you on.

If you already have an account simply click the announce your project and fill in the information. Don’t forget to share it with everyone. I would love to hear about your project for Camp, comment down below.

Join our Camp NaNoWriMo encouragement channel in our Writing Group.

On the Wings for Writers is our Discord Server writing group you can find the link to join here. Follow us on social media and our web page is under construction. When you join there is a video with tips and how to use the server. When you get familiar with the server you can share your project in our campnano channel and we will cheer you on every day.

How you can find me on NaNoWriMo and send me a buddy request?

I freely admit that NaNoWriMo’s email system could use some work but it is fun to chat with others while they are doing NaNo. You can search for me here, type in my user name SACrow I’ll be happy to accept your buddy request.

Special Camp Project- Postcard swap.

I think this is my 3rd year signing up to take part in the postcard swap hosted by a member of NaNoWriMo. You can find the post here on NaNoWriMo’s forums here. I’ve found some great friends and been able to keep them as pen pals long after the event. I highly recommend it.

Who's Line is it Anyway

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Badasswriters podcast

Events

This Wednesday The Writing Buddy Program is hosting a meet up on Discord at 5pm Central time

Massive Author Giveaway on our Facebook Group on the 20th check it out here and join our group so you don’t miss out.

We interview Alice Hanov the 23rd at 5pm Central time

We vote on the next featured recipe for Raven’s Cookbook 2022 on the 25th

I’m interviewed on the 26th

Book Signing the 27th

Book Club meeting the 30th

Don’t miss my social media book tour

Friday mornings I host writing sprints on YouTube from 9-11 central time

Saturday afternoons I host plan with me sprints on YouTube from 1-3pm central time

[image error][image error][image error][image error][image error]What I’ve been up to- Game night?

My lovely wife Jenn decided to start up table top role play gaming on Discord a week or so ago. Several of us gathered together and created our teenage characters for a Hero’s Unlimited game. Here is my character and what power she received when she ran into a creature at the school's field trip to the Air and Space Museum in Virginia.

Get a free story on my Newsletter!

Sign up for my

and get access to a free seasonal short Home Fires. This is a continuation of Travis and Raven’s story from Into the Fire and takes place between The Fire Inside book 2 and book 3 of The Fire Series. You can get The Fire Inside now and Into the Fire for .99 in celebration of my 2nd novel coming out here.

Are you looking for some personalized writing coaching?

Katrina Smith Author Interview

,Katrina Smith

An avid book reader as a kid, I always loved writing stories in my journals. It wasn't until 2017 that I decided to try to write a novel. That was the year that I did NaNoWriMo for the first time. Sadly, I didn't write 50,000 words that year or the three years afterwards, but NaNoWriMo 2020 taught me that I found a story that I really wanted to publish. Rebel (as in She Rebels) is the first book of a seven-part series. Each of the seven books has an inspirational message in it, while also representing the colors of the rainbow. In this series, I wanted to include something to raise awareness for Autism, because sometimes we forget that not everyone has the same reactions to situations. As someone who is very high on the spectrum, I might not know exactly what someone that is very low on the spectrum goes through, but I understand some of the coping mechanisms that are used to calm someone down. Rocking in place, or listening to music with your eyes closed, using touch to stay calm, having a favorite smell around, humming, or listening to someone's heartbeat are just some of the ways I cope with stress.

You can find her books on amazon ,https://www.amazon.com/Katrina-Smith/e/B08R147Z3G/ref=aufs_dp_mata_dsk

Goodreads

,https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4441919.Katrina_Smith

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/KatrinaNicoleSmith

Interview

So we are here interviewing Katrina Smith. Katrina, your first NaNoWriMo was in 2017?

That's correct.

You have four books out in your rainbow series. That's a seven part series.

Yes.

And you wanted to raise awareness for autism?

My first question is about the titles? I see the R OYG. is So you're going with the rainbow colors. And that's the first letter. Okay. So I did get that right?

Okay. I was like, That's kind of cute. I like that.

So what else about the titles of these books? The seven part series? Um, other than the first letter is the color the same as the color? What is it about those titles?

Well, the titles represent something that happens in the books. Like Rebel, she rebels against tradition until tradition takes her heart in order that she has to find order in herself and in her people to fight the bad guy. Use Oh, it's about children. Growth is growing the land.

Very cool. And these are coming of age fantasy. Correct?

Correct.

Okay, so what kind of fantasy is it? epic fantasy? is an urban fantasy. Is there like a sub other than coming of age?

No, just young adults coming of age fantasy.

So what are you currently working on?

Am current Working on book five, which is called Bravery.

And what stage is that work at currently?

Oh, I'm a little over halfway through the book. Going to be about a 50,000 word novel.

The reason why I wanted to bring up awareness of autism is because I know what it's like to grow up with autism. I wasn't, I was diagnosed when I was eight. I wasn't told until I was older.

It's lovely to see books raising awareness about this and how have you gone about that? I mean, have you just been trying to portray autism that's not stereotypical. Or is it the fact that your main character has autism? How have you been going about raising that awareness?

One of my characters, not the main character, has autism and she's senior so she can see the future and she doesn't really talk much. In the later books she will have more of an impact.

What would you like to see in novels where writers are portraying characters with autism? Being someone on the spectrum What would you like to read?

I would like to read more books that are acceptable. Write about it and not portray the “oh you need to be fixed” troupe. It's not about changing our behaviors. It's about helping us survive a world that looks down on us.

Yeah, it's accepting you for who you are no matter what.

Yes. Yeah.

That's lovely. I'm so glad to see more books with autistic characters in them so what's your opinion about fantasy? Why did you pick fantasy as your genre?

I grew up reading all these fantasy books. Inheritance series, The Dragons Riders of Pern, and more. And I wanted to put myself into the stories that encouraged my creativity, and it drew me into this world of exploring everything around me in a different way.

I know coming of age is a hard sub genre to do. How are you handling that? Is your book gonna go from coming of age as a young adult into adulthood? Or are you sort of sticking them in this in, the coming of age or young adult for the whole seven book series?

Well, technically my main character is aged up into, like a 20 something year old person. But the books stay with young adults.

Is that a majority of what you prefer as a reader or just where you went when it comes to writing?

That's the majority of what I like to read.

Yeah, there's so many good young adult novel series out there. There are some that are not so great, in my opinion, but then there's others that are really fascinatingly good. And I hate that people associate YA with only young adult readers when they're just as good for adults in any respect it’s literature, no matter what.

Right? It's good to see.

So what's the best fan mail you've ever received?

I haven't.

You haven't. Do you have access so people can write you fan mail?

Now right now?

Oh, we had fixed that. So you can get fan mail?

I'm curious what you're going to do after you finish the series. Are you going to stick with the same genre and same type of characters?

Okay, so I already have ideas for the next series in my repertoire, whatever you want to call it. Gonna start out at a mid level where these kids are like 10, 11, 12 And that's the first series The second series is when they're in high school. So kind of young adult and then the third series is going to be when they're in college

Well, that's very cool. It's very time consuming but sounds awesome.

And it's like a mystery set in the countryside of a small town.

Is it going to be a fantasy place?

Yeah, it's a fantasy place. I’m basing it off of the small town where I grew up, and the countryside where my grandfather lived. I just wanted something that was kind of girl detective

mystery but also you grew up with these characters it's so cool.

Did you ever consider going traditional publishing over indie?

I did it once. At one point but I didn't want to wait in between releases. Not you know like a year or two years between releases. So I decided to go indie and rapid release for the first three books. And I think I'll just stay that way.

I don't blame you there I like the control of indie publishing

Transcribed by the use of ,https://otter.ai

If you would like to be interviewed and featured as a featured author please email us at ,sacrow@authorsacrow.com and make the subject featured author interview.

Our next interview you can join us on the 23rd of March 5pm Central US time.

How to Gain Newsletter Readers by Publishing a Story.

How to publish a story in your newsletter for readers?

It’s said that a writers’ or authors’ newsletter is the most important marketing tool in your toolbox. Books like Newsletter Ninja 1 & 2 are great resources. Today we are going to chat about publishing short stories as an incentive to get readers to sign up for your newsletter.

What do you want to get when you sign up for an authors' newsletter?

I want exclusive news, and a close relationship with my favorite author. Short stories that happen between novels in a series or one-shots are a great exclusive to give readers. As well as a great tool to help push your new novel with readers.

How do you do this?

Short stories or one-shots aren’t as hard as you think. Short stories range anywhere from 1,500 to 30,000 words; Novellas run from 30,000 to 50,000. Essentially, you want to take all the beats of a novel and achieve them quickly.

I feel that there is more weight to an exclusive if it is part of a series or about a character in the series.

Here is an example. I’m releasing a short story that takes place between The Fire Inside book 2 of The Fire Series out March 7th, 2022, preorder now and Book 3 of The Fire Series If the Seas Catch Fire. This short story is Home Fires, a seasonal short for The Fire Series. At a later date I will compile these short stories and make a box set for the series.

Home Fires synopsis

Raven is creating her own cooking internet show and afraid that Travis is going to dump her for a new model before the Christmas Holidays.

How important communication is in a relationship and how bad are assumptions?

Will Raven let her fears cost her love?

Tell me more about Home Fires.

Home Fires picks up around the end of November when Anna has moved to Seattle, Washington. Raven is afraid that Travis will tire of her and want someone more fitting to his world of the rich and famous. It doesn’t help when he becomes secretive and has been caught on camera out and about in town with a thinner, taller, younger model type.

Different ways to publish a story in your newsletter.

I have seen a few methods of how to share material in your newsletter.

If you use Google Docs, you can share a folder with the stories. Simply open Google Docs, make a folder containing the story and click the share button on the top right-hand side. Click the change to anyone who has the link and then copy the link and include it in your newsletter.

You can also save documents as html which makes them a web page with an address.

In your newsletter you will want to have a section for the story with a photo, synopsis, and links to the chapters or story. Often Authors include this on the bottom of their newsletter.

Why would you want to do this?

To draw readers to sign up for your newsletter. Also it's a good idea to expand on characters and your series world.

How can you read Home Fires?

Why sign up for my newsletter before the end of March 2022 because it will be available as installments during the month?

What I’m working on now?

Proofreading Home Fires for publication in my newsletter

Camp NaNoWriMo Prep for April. If you are doing NaNoWriMo you can add me as a buddy I'm SACrow

I plan to revise for at least 1800 minutes in April.

[image error][image error][image error]5 days until https://youtu.be/GPOVwTvjZeM